Rob Parton's JazzTech Big Band: Two Different Days

Two Different Days and one terrific band. This is the sixth album recorded by trumpeter Rob Parton's cyclonic ensemble from the Windy City, and while every one of them has been spectacular in its own way, this one may well earn the blue ribbon as best in show.

Simply put, this is a band that has everythingscrupulous section work, stalwart soloists and a superb rhythm section spearheaded by Chicago's premier big band drummer, Bob Rummage. But even though the competition is fierce, what sets Days apart from Parton's earlier albums, in this reviewer's opinion, is his splendid choice of material, which leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. It's almost as if Parton said to his sidemen, "Let's get together in a studio and record some songs that Jack Bowers would really appreciate." That didn't happen, of course, but it may as well have, as the outcome is the same.

Any album that opens with a mind-blowing arrangement of George Gershwin's "Soon," as this one does, has laid a hammerlock on my heart from the outset. That's the first of five markedly impressive charts by ace writer Don Schamber, complementing two apiece by Thomas Matta, Chris Madsen and Kirk Garrison, trombonist Tom Garling's dynamic "Two Different Days" and Cliff Colnot's ethereal orchestration (with string section) of Chuck Mangione's soulful "She's Gone." Parton, one of that rare breed of trumpeters who plays jazz as well as he plays leadand that's about as well as anyone canis showcased on "Speak Low," "My One and Only Love" and "She's Gone," tenor saxophonist Mark Colby on the debonair "Blue Getz Blues," Garling on bass trombonist Matta's fast-paced treatment of the venerable Tommy Dorsey theme "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You."

Parton, who has been presiding over the JazzTech Big Band for more than two decades, says the ensemble has found its identity "as a straight-ahead, swingin', hometown Chicago band performing because we love to play creative and original big-band Jazz." That's more than mere philosophy; it's an undeniable fact, one that Two Different Days, one of the year's most impressive big band albums, readily underscores and emphatically affirms.

Track Listing: Soon; On a Misty Night; Speak Low; How Deep Is the Ocean; Take the 'A' Train; I'm Getting Sentimental Over You; Blue Daniel; Never Will I Marry; My One and Only Love; Bernie's Tune; Blue Getz Blues; Two Different Days; She's Gone.

I was first exposed to jazz when I discovered that one of Jimi Hendrix's influences was Wes Montgomery. I played guitar growing up and idolized Hendrix, so I knew that anyone he looked up to must be good

I was first exposed to jazz when I discovered that one of Jimi Hendrix's influences was Wes Montgomery. I played guitar growing up and idolized Hendrix, so I knew that anyone he looked up to must be good. I was 16 at the time. I went to Tower Records and purchased a CD by Wes, and I was hooked from the very first ten seconds. The sound of the song Lolita illuminated my bedroom, as I just sat back amazed at how colorful and soulful this music was--I understood it, even though at the time I didn't understand how to go about playing it. I get chills listening to Wes' solo on Lolita, and I can still listen to that song ten times in a row and never get tired of it. There is a truly timeless quality to genuinely spontaneous jazz music, and it is that quality that has inspired me to devote my life to studying and playing this music.